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Birth:          ABT  565 Denmark

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yrsa
Yrsa, Yrse, Yrs or Urse (6th century[note 1]) was a tragic heroine of early 
Scandinavian literature.

She appears in several versions relating to her husband, the Swedish king Eadgils, 
and/or to her father and rapist/lover/husband Halga (the younger brother of king 
Hroðgar who received Beowulf) and their son Hroðulf. The consensus view is that the 
people surrounding Yrsa are the same people as those found in Beowulf,[1] and the 
common claim in Beowulf studies that Hroðulf probably was the son of Halga is taken 
from the Yrsa tradition. Several translators (e.g. Burton Raffel) and scholars have 
emended her name from a corrupt line (62) in the manuscript of Beowulf, although this 
is guesswork.

In the Ynglinga saga, Snorri Sturluson describes her personality as follows (Samuel 
Laing's translation):

Yrsa was not one of the slave girls, and it was soon observed that she was intelligent, 
spoke well, and in all respects was well behaved. All people thought well of her, and 
particularly the king; and at last it came to so far that the king celebrated his wedding 
with her, and Yrsa became queen of Svithiod, and was considered an excellent 
woman.[2]
Chronicon Lethrense and Annales Lundenses[edit]

The Chronicon Lethrense (and the included Annales Lundenses) tells that one day, 
the Danish king Helghe arrived in Halland/Lolland[note 2] and slept with Thore, the 
daughter of one of Ro's farmers. This resulted in Yrse. Much later, he met Yrse, and 
without knowing that she was his daughter, he made her pregnant with Rolf Krage. 
Lastly, he found out that Yrse was his own daughter, went east and killed himself.
Ro is the same personage as Hroðgar, who received Beowulf at Heorot. His co-king 
Helghe is the same as Hroðgar's brother Halga, and Rolf Krage is the same personage 
as Hroðgar's nephew Hroðulf. However, in Beowulf, it is never explained in what way 
they were uncle and nephew.

Gesta Danorum[edit]

The Gesta Danorum (Book 2) reports that Helgo was the brother of the Danish King 
Ro, but whereas Ro was king of the Danish lands, Helgo had inherited the sea. One 
day during his sea roving, arrived at Thurø, where he found and raped the young girl 
Thora, who became pregnant with Urse. When Helgo, after many years, returned to 
Thurø, Thora avenged her lost virginity by sending Urse to Helgo who, unknowingly, 
raped his own daughter. This resulted in Roluo Kraki.

During a Swedish invasion, Ro was killed by Hothbrodd, the King of Sweden. Helgo 
avenged his brother's death and made the Swedes pay tribute. However, he then 
chose to commit suicide due to his shame for his incestuous relationship with Urse, 
and their son Roluo Kraki succeeded him. Athislus, the new King of Sweden, thought 
that the tribute to the Daner might be smaller if he married the Danish king's mother, 
and so took Urse for his queen. However, after some time, Urse was so upset with the 
Swedish king's greediness that she thought out a ruse to run away from the king and 
at the same time liberate him of his wealth. She incited Athislus to rebel against Roluo, 
and arranged so that Roluo would be invited and promised a wealth in gifts.

When the banquet had lasted for three days, Urse and Roluo escaped from Uppsala, 
early in the morning in carriages where they had put all the Swedish king's treasure. In 
order to lessen their burden, and to occupy any pursuing warriors they spread gold in 
their path, although there was a rumour that she only spread gilded copper. When 
Athislus, who was pursuing the escapers saw that a precious ring was lying on the 
ground, he bent down to pick it up. Roluo was pleased to see the King of Sweden 
bent down, and escaped in the ships with his mother.

This account is more elaborate than that of Chronicon Lethrense and Annales 
Lundenses. Helgo is the same personage as Helghe/Halga. His brother the Danish 
King Ro is the same as Hroðgar, Roluo is the same as Hroðulf/Rolf Krage, and the 
Swedish King Athislus is the same as Eadgils, the Swedish king of Beowulf. Yrse is 
here called Urse, and the story of her son fleeing the Swedish king with all his 
treasure is also found in the following accounts. It is noteworthy that all the Danish 
sources, Chronicon Lethrense, Annales Lundenses and Gesta Danorum differ on 
where Halga found Yrsa, but make her Danish. The Icelandic sources that follow 
make her a Saxon, on the other hand, and not Danish.

Hrólfr Kraki's saga[edit]

In Hrólfr Kraki's saga, Helgi (i.e. Halga) went to the Saxons wanting to woo their 
warlike queen Oluf. She was, however, not interested and humiliated Helgi by shaving 
his head and covering him with tar, while he was asleep, and sending him back to his 
ship. Some time later, Helgi returned and through a ruse, he kidnapped the queen for 
a while during which time he made her pregnant.

Having returned to her kingdom, the queen bore a child, a girl which she named Yrsa 
after her dog. Yrsa was set to live as a shepherd, until she was 12 years old, when 
she met her father Helgi who fell in love with her, not knowing it was his daughter. 
Oluf kept quiet about the parentage and saw it as her revenge that Helgi would wed 
his own daughter. Helgi and Yrsa had the son Hrólfr Kraki (Hroðulf).

Learning that Helgi and Yrsa lived happily together, queen Oluf travelled to Denmark 
to tell her daughter the truth. Yrsa was shocked and although Helgi wanted their 
relationship to remain as it was, Yrsa insisted on leaving him to live alone. She was 
later taken by the Swedish king Aðils (Eadgils) as his queen, which made Helgi even 
unhappier.

Missing Yrsa, Helgi went to Uppsala to fetch her, but was killed by Aðils in battle. Yrsa 
was naturally upset that the man who was closest to her was killed by her husband, 
and promised Aðils that his berserkers would all be slain if she could help it. She was 
no happier in the king's company and she was not interested in making up with him 
either. Later, when a young Swedish warrior named Svipdag arrived to test his skills, 
she greatly supported him in his fights with the berserkers who eventually were all 
slain. Svipdag chose not to remain with king Aðils and instead he sought service with 
Yrsa's son Hrólfr who had succeeded Helgi as the king of Denmark.

After some time, when Aðils owed Hrólfr not only the gold he had taken from Helgi 
during the battle, but also tribute for his help fighting king Áli (i.e. Onela of Beowulf) in 
the Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern, Hrólfr arrived at Uppsala to gather his tribute. 
Aðils did his best to stop Hrólfr through different ruses, but had to go away to gather 
reinforcements. While the Swedish king was gone, Yrsa provided her son with more 
gold than was due to him. Then she gave Hrólfr and his men twelve of the Swedish 
king's best horses (Aðils was famous for his well-bred horses), and all the armour and 
provisions they needed.

Hrólfr took a fond farewell of his mother and departed over the Fyrisvellir. When they 
saw Aðils and his warriors in pursuit, they spread the gold behind themselves. Aðils 
saw his precious Svíagris on the ground and stooped to pick it up with his spear, 
whereupon Hrólfr cut his back with his sword and screamed in triumph that he had 
bent the back of the most powerful man in Sweden.

Later, Hrólfr was killed by his brother-in-law Hjörvarðr (i.e. the Heoroweard of Beowulf) 
through treason and when the battle was over Hrólfr's sister the half-elven Skuld ruled 
Denmark. Yrsa exacted revenge by sending a large Swedish army ledd by Vogg who 
captured Skuld before she could summon her army. Skuld was tortured to death and 
Hrólfr's daughters took over the rule of Denmark.

This account resembles that of the Gesta Danorum, but is more elaborate. A notable 
difference is that Yrsa is no longer Danish but Saxon, and that Yrsa stayed in Sweden, 
when her son Hroðulf fled Eadgils with the gold.

Skjöldunga saga[edit]

The Skjöldunga saga[3][4] relates that Helgo (Halga) was the king of Denmark 
together with his brother Roas (Hroðgar). Helgo raped Olava, the queen of the 
Saxons, and she bore a daughter named Yrsa. The girl later married king Adillus 
(Eadgils), the king of Sweden. Yrsa and Adillus had the daughter Scullda.

Some years later, Helgo attacked Sweden and captured Yrsa. He raped Yrsa, his own 
daughter, and took her back to Denmark, where she bore the son Rolfo (Hroðulf). 
After a few years, Yrsa's mother, queen Olava, came to visit her and told her that 
Helgo was her own father. In horror, Yrsa returned to Adillus, leaving her son behind. 
Helgo died when Rolfo was eight years old, and Rolfo succeeded him, and ruled 
together with his uncle Roas. Not much later, Roas was killed by his half-brothers 
Rærecus and Frodo (Froda), whereupon Rolfo became the sole king of Denmark.

In Sweden, Yrsa and Adillus married their Scullda to the king of Öland, Hiørvardus 
(also called Hiorvardus and Hevardus, and who corresponds to Heoroweard in 
Beowulf). As her half-brother Rolfo was not consulted about this marriage, he was 
infuriated and he attacked Öland and made Hiørvardus and his kingdom tributary to 
Denmark.

Adillus requested Rolfo's aid against the Norwegian king Ale (Onela). Rolfo sent his 
berserkers, but when the war had been won, Adillus refused to pay. Rolfo came to 
Uppsala and after some adventures he could flee with Adillus' gold, helped by his 
mother Yrsa, and he "sowed" it on the Fyrisvellir.

This account differs from Hrólf Kraki's saga in the respect that Yrsa was first 
peacefully married to Eadgils, and later captured by Halga, who raped her and made 
her pregnant with Hroðulf. In Hrólfr Kraki's saga, she was first captured by Halga who 
had Hroðulf with him. Learning that Halga was her father, she returned to Saxland 
from where Eadgils kidnapped her. In Hrólfr Kraki's saga, Helgi dies when more or less 
trying to save her from Eagdils, while the Skjöldunga saga presents her marriage with 
Eadgils as a happier one, and Halga died in a different war expedition.

Ynglinga saga[edit]

The Skjöldunga saga[4] was used by Snorri Sturluson as a source when he told the 
story of Aðils (Eadgils) and Yrsa. What remains of the Skjöldunga saga is a Latin 
summary by Arngrímur Jónsson, and so the two versions are basically the same, the 
main difference being that Arngrímur's version is more terse.

Snorri relates that Aðils betook himself to pillage the Saxons, whose king was Geirþjófr 
and queen Alof the Great. The king and consort were not at home, and so Aðils and 
his men plundered their residence at ease driving cattle and captives down to the 
ships. One of the captives was a remarkably beautiful girl named Yrsa, and Snorri 
writes that everyone was soon impressed with the well-mannered, pretty and intelligent 
girl. Most impressed was Aðils who made her his queen.

Some years later, Helgi (Halga), who ruled in Lejre, attacked Sweden and captured 
Yrsa. He raped Yrsa, his own daughter, and took her back to Lejre, where she bore 
him the son Hrólfr (Hroðulf). When the boy was three years of age, Yrsa's mother, 
queen Alof of Saxony, came to visit her and told her that her husband Helgi was her 
own father. Horrified, Yrsa returned to Aðils, leaving her son behind, and stayed in 
Sweden for the rest of her life. When Hrólfr was eight years old, Helgi died during a 
war expedition and Hrólfr was proclaimed king.

Snorri finishes his account by briefly mentioning that the Skjöldunga saga contained 
an extensive account of how Hrólfr came to Uppsala and sowed gold on the 
Fyrisvellir.

Skáldskaparmál[edit]

In the Skáldskaparmál, Yrsa's husband king Aðils (Eadgils) requested Yrsa's son 
Hrólfr's help against the Norwegian king Áli (Onela). Hrólfr was busy fighting the 
Saxons but sent his berserkers.

When Hrólfr heard that Aðils refused to pay, he set off to Uppsala. They brought the 
ships to the river Fyris and rode directly to the Swedish king's hall at Uppsala with his 
twelve berserkers. Yrsa welcomed them and led them to their lodgings. Fires were 
prepared for them and they were given drinks. However, so much wood was heaped 
on the fires that the clothes started to burn away from their clothes. Hrólfr and his men 
had enough and threw the courtiers on the fire. Yrsa arrived and gave them a horn full 
of gold, the ring Svíagris and asked them to flee. As they rode over the Fyrisvellir, 
they saw Aðils and his men pursuing them. The fleeing men threw their gold on the 
plain so that the pursuers would stop to collect the gold. Aðils, however, continued 
the chase on his horse Slöngvir. Hrólfr then threw Svíagris and saw how Aðils stooped 
down to pick up the ring with his spear. Hrólfr exclaimed that he had seen the 
mightiest man in Sweden bend his back.

Gróttasöngr[edit]

The Gróttasöngr contains a stanza (nr 22) sung by the giantesses Fenja and Menja. It 
only names Yrsa and the situation that her son and brother (i.e. Hroðulf) will avenge 
Fródi (Froda):

Mölum enn framar.Mun Yrsu sonr,niðr Halfdanar,hefna Fróða;sá mun hennarheitinn 
verðaburr ok bróðir,vitum báðar þat. Let us grind on!Yrsa's son,Hálfdan's kinsman,will 
avenge Fródi:he will of herbe calledson and brother:we both know that.(Thorpe's 
translation) 

This piece cannot refer to Hrólfr Kraki's saga where Froda was the half-brother of 
Healfdene because this Froda was killed by Hroðgar. It can, however, be interpreted 
through the Skjöldunga saga in which Hroðulf's uncle Hroðgar was murdered by his 
half-brother Froda.

Beowulf[edit]

The poem Beowulf reads (lines 59–63):

59  Ðæm feower bearn    forðgerimed
60  in worold wocun    weoroda ræswa
61  heorogar. 7 hroðgar    7 halga til
62  hyrde ic ?    elan cwen

63  heaðo-Scilfingas    healsgebedda
This appears in Gummere's translation as:

59  Then, one after one, there woke to him,
60  to the chieftain of clansmen, children four:
61  Heorogar, then Hrothgar, then Halga brave;
62  and I heard that – ela's queen,

63  the Heathoscylfing’s helpmate dear.
There is obviously something wrong with line 62. A name of a daughter has dropped 
out, a daughter who was the wife of someone whose name ends in -ela and who was 
Scylfing, i.e. belonging to the royal dynasty of Sweden. It is likely enough that at some 
time in copying the poem a scribe was unable to make out the exact spelling of these 
names and so left the text blank at that point to be fixed up later. It was never fixed 
up and so the names were lost in later copies.

By Old English poetic rules of alliteration the name of the daughter must also begin 
with a vowel. The choice is usually the name Yrs or Yrse, since Scandinavian tradition 
speaks much of Yrsa the granddaughter of Healfdene and wife of King Eadgils of 
Sweden. This assumes great shifting of names and roles, since Eadgils is the enemy of 
Onela. Onela appears in Norse texts as Áli. Accordingly, many editors and translators 
prefer to simply note that the line is corrupt. Others like Burton Raffel render the 
missing passage as Yrs (i.e. Yrsa), and modern commentary sometimes refers to the 
marriage of Onela and Yrsa without indicating that this exists only through somewhat 
dubious conjectural emendation.

In film[edit]

A personage named Yrsa is voiced by Leslie Harter Zemeckis (Robert Zemeckis' wife) 
in the 2007 animated version of Beowulf. Her only role in the movie is to be courted by 
the Geatish warrior Hondscio.
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jweber&id=I00740

Parents
HALFDANSSON Helgi (ABT  538 - )
____ Olof (ABT  540 - )

Siblings
HELGASDOTTIR Yrsa (ABT  565 - )

Marriage To OTTARSSON Adil ("Athils") (ABT  572 - )
    m.  

Notes

Parents
EGILSSON Ottar "Vendrilkraka" (ABT  551 - )
----- ----- ()

Children by OTTARSSON Adil ("Athils") ABT  572 - 
ADILSSON Eystein (ABT  594 - )

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